Smith joins MCRES as associate general counsel

Debra Smith, Esq. has joined the legal team of Madison Commercial Real Estate Services (MCRES) as associate general counsel. Smith specializes in handling complex commercial real estate transactions in N.Y. for Madison Title Agency, MCRES' flagship division. "As the title business continues to accelerate with the recovery of the commercial real estate market, we recognize that reinforcing the MCRES team with additional best-in-class professionals is a key to maintaining our competitive edge," said Joseph I. Rosenbaum, President of MCRES. "Debra Smith is an excellent addition. She brings a broad background in commercial real estate law and a truly customer-oriented approach to business. Her seasoned track record for handling large, complex transactions in the sophisticated New York market as well as her national expertise complements the requirements we are seeing from both current and potential new clients." Previously, Ms. Smith served as Senior Vice President of Fidelity National Financial (FNF), one of the nation's major title insurance underwriters, where she managed a division of attorneys and related support staff responsible for administering title insurance claims in 16 states and Canada for all FNF brands. She has extensive experience in managing litigation related to title insurance and coverage law. Earlier in her career, Ms. Smith handled a variety of transactions while working primarily as a commercial real estate attorney both at The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America and The Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York. She earned a bachelor's degree from The New School and a Juris Doctor degree from New York University School of Law. She is an active member of the NY State Bar Association. MCRES is a group of related companies that offer transactional, financial and tax services for the commercial real estate market. As its flagship division, Madison Title Agency conducts searches, writes policies, manages transactions, and provides closing and escrow services in all 50 states, and also offers customized REO solutions. This nationwide full-service title company has more than $100 billion in insured transactions and handles in excess of 10,000 transactions annually. Each MCRES company excels in a specific, highly specialized area of expertise. In addition to Madison Title Agency, they include Madison SPECS, offering expert cost segregation studies; Madison §1031, one of the nation's leading Qualified Intermediaries handling §1031 Exchanges; LeaseProbe, producing commercial lease abstracts and handling Lease Administration and CAM Audits; Real Diligence, offering accurate and reliable financial due diligence for commercial real estate acquisitions as well as offering memorandums and distressed asset acquisition support; and DocProbe, obtaining trailing documents post-closing, including mortgages, title policies, POA's, CEMA's, UCC's and assignments.